Valve construction



Sept. 11, 1928. 1,683,625

E. K, NICKERSON VALVE CONSTRUCTION Filed July '7, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J5 -@-Jd 12 l Sept. 11, 1928.

E. K. NICKERSON VALVE CONSTRUCTION Filed y 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a a m III /A Patented Sept 11, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VALVE CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed July 7, 1924. Serial N 0. 724,699

This invention relates broadly to valves, and more particularly to improved 'means for reinforcing and guidinga valve during movement to and from its seat.

. While this invention finds particular utility for and is described and illustrated in connection with a'conventional form of sliding gate valve, it will be understood that it finds a wide field of utility for purposes other than butjsimilarto that disclosed here.

With respect to sliding :gate valves, or similar valves wherein the valve itself either slides laterally in a straight or curvilinear path across the valve seat which defines the fluid passageway, I find that, particularly in installations where the fluid, such as water, oil or the like is under high velocity or pressure, there is a tendency on the part of the fluid, due to the unequalized pressure thereof, to flex the valve, which causes the periphery of the downstream faees'of the valve to be forced out of alignment sufliciently at times to cause the edge of, the valve to strike the peripheral edge of the seat in closing or opening and either prevent or retard proper operation of the valve, and at best to increase thewearing of the parts at this point. Furthermore, a slight flexing of the valve relative its stem or a flexing of the stem will result, which is, for obvious reasons, at least undesirable. And this wearing steadily increases each time the valve is operated.

Another disadvantage which exists, more particularly in the multi part expansible gate valves now in common use, and to which this invention is applicable, resides in the incessant. vibration or chattering of the valve plug or gate when in one of its intermediate positions, caused by the rapid flow of fluid through the-valve port, which vibration often results in additlonal undue wear' of theparts. 3 The foregoing disadvantages may, of

course, in a measure be overcome by .increasing the size of the-valve or ts parts,

or both," but this is not an economical procedure as will readily be understood.

The principal objects and advantages of this inventionreside in the provision of improved meansfor preventing undesirable -flexing of the valve plug; means for guiding and reinforcing a valve; the provision of improved means; for guiding and reinforcing a sliding gate valve; the provision of improved means for guiding and reinforcing themedial portion of a valve; the provlsionof improved means for guiding and reinforcing themedial portion of a slid- MASSACHUSETTS, Assronon To THE vnIAN ORCHARD, MAsSAcH ing gate valve; the provision of improved means for-guiding and reinforcing a sliding or osclllatlng gate valveor'the like; the provision of means which cooperates with the valve seat and with a contact portion of a 1 valve for reinforcing the valve during movement to and from its'seat; the provisionof improved means for cooperating with a valve seat and a contact face of a sliding gate valve for reinforcing and guiding the valve during movement to and from and while on its seat; the'provision of improved means for reducing, or, in some instances, entirely eliminating chattering or vibration of the valve plug when in one of its intermediate positions; and the provision of an improvement of the character described which does not materially interfere 'with flow of fluid through the valve or with acicurate seating of the valve, and which is simple and adds but little cost to thevalve either in manufacture, maintenance or repair.

The foregoing and such other objects and advantages as may appear or be pointed out as this description proceedsare attained in the structural embodiment of this invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

' in which Figure l is a vertical transverse sectional view ofa valve constructed in accordance with the present invention, the valve gate being omitted for the sake of clearness; 1

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 2+2 of Figure 1, looking in i the direction indicated by the arrows;

Figure 3 isa vertical longitudinal section- 1 al view, showing the valve in closed position; l a Y Figure ei'is an elevational view of the valve gate;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary'sectional View of a detail; and v Figure 6 is a schematic view illustrating the relationship of a gate valveto its seat in course of movement.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view 'Of aniodified formof this invention.

Figure 8 is afragmentary sectional view" of a further'alternative form of my'inVen-. tion.

Referringmore particularly to the drawings, wherein for convenience in describing this invention, there is illustrated a sliding gate valvestructure,'I provide a casing 5, "provided" with ports 6 and-7,- bordered by annular fiages 8 and 9, which are connected respectively, to the up and down stream conduits (not shown), flow throughwhich is controlled by the gatevalve member generally indicated at 10. i

The'cas ng is provided with a vertically extending auxillary casing or chamber 11,

providedwith a laterally extendingfiange 1 2, and a head 13 is. provided with a flange 14: connected fiXedly to the flange 12 by bolts l4-1i or' the like. The head 13 is provided with a suitableifluid tight bushing, not shown, through which the valve stem 15 extends. a

The lateral side walls 16-16. of the chamber 11'are substantially straight and serve to guide the valve gate 10 whenlifted to open position. These walls 16 serve to guide the valve somewhat during its traverse. The walls 16 are joined by the circular wall lTwhich .is of greater diameter than that of the ports 6 and 7, and said wall 17 s provided with internalenlargements 18 which form stops against which the valve in closed position abuts. y i

Theports on their inner annular edges, are recessed to ailord shoulders 19 and 20, and saidshoulders afford an internally threaded recess forreception of the valve seat rings 21 and 22, respectively, said rings having annular bearing surfaces 23 and 24: presentedtowardeach other and between which ed to receive the member 30, which latter isprovided with a flange. 31 which engages inthe recesses 28 and 29 and serves thereby to connect the two disc portions 26 and fZT subj ect to relative movement-of said discs as hereinafter appears.

(The connecting member or plug nut 30 is internally threaded for engagement with the lower threaded end.32 of the valve stem the medial portions, of the valve gatesections 26*and 27,, there maybe provided a conventional wedge means now known 111 i. the art but not'shown," which is operated l A u i r- "by the.wedge actuating members 33, extending vert'ically through the gate valve and pro ect1ng below same so as to contact with the stop members 18 when the valve moves to closed position for expanding the two disc portions into firm contact withthe seat rings 21 and 22.

The discs 2G-and 27 are each provided with contact rings 34 and 35, which are riveted or otherwise fixedly secured to the opposite faces of the disc portions 26 and 27, respectively, near the peripheries of the disc portions, for contact with the seat rings 21 and 22 during movement of the valve and when the valve is in closed position.

I find in the conventional sliding gale valve that during the movement of the valveas explained the area of contact between the rings of the valve seat and the rings of the valve gate is relatively small, in fact, conhned to the space indicated at 363(3, in Figure 6. A

As herembefore. explained, it is the purpose of this invention to increase this eii'ec tive area of contact during movement of the valve and when the valve is in closed position, and to this end, aswill be seen in Figures 1, 2 and 3, I provide a pair of. substantially parallel vertical posts 37, which extend across the port 7 and may be cast integrally with the valve casing, as shown, or bolted or otherwise secured thereto. The guide-posts 37 are, as shown in Figure 2, disposed in spaced symmetrical relationship across the iluid passageway on eitherside of and substantially parallel with the median line along which the valve moves, so that the valve member has substantially continuous contact with the guides during movement. v

The posts 37 are recessed as at 38-38 at the edges presented toward the valve gate 10 and adjacent to the juncture of the posts with the valve casing so as to prevent sedirin 22. V y

The inner edges of the posts 37 are lined with strips 39-39 which, as best shown in nient, debris or the like, from reaching the Figure .5, are riveted as at 40 or otherwise fixedly secured to their respective posts.

The contact faces of the strips 39am presented toward the valve gate and are in sub:

stantially the same transverse plane as that of the contact face 2 of the ring 22.

The adjacent disc portion 27 of the valve gate is provided with raised enlargements 1 41-41 which are provided*with contact strips 42-42 complemental to the strips 39 on the posts 37. These strips 42 may extend substantially entirel across thevalve disc portions27 as s iown.

It will be obvious that hile the posts 37 gate have been illustrated as secured integrally,

to or, in other words, cast with the valve cas- 7 1 mg, under some conditions, it might be desir-able to'cast these'posts with the ring 22, as indicated at in Figure 7, but inordinary practice the mounting of-the posts in the manner shown is economical and as the strips 239 permit of renewal similarly to the renewal of the valve seat ring, it will be ap parent that the construction shown in Figure 3 is to be preferred.

\Vhile the reinforcing posts and contact strips of this invention have been disclosed as mounted on the down-stream side of the valve gate for the purpose set forth, it will be understood that these'posts may be duplicated on the upstream side, as shown as 37 in Figure 8, or where flow takes place in both directions at various times through the valve it may be desirable to duplicate the min "forcing elements on the other side of the valve gate.

From the foregoing it will be observed that the reinforcing members described mounted on the casing and on the valve gate serve to increase the area of contact of'the valve withthe casing when the valveis off its seat so that flexing of the valve, .due to the pressure of the fluid flowing therethrough, cannot take place, and, furthermore, the reinforcing means servesto guide the valve accurately onto its seat and prevents chipping or other damage to the valve seat rings or contact rings on the valve gate. It will be observed that the reinforcing elements carried by the casing do not offer any material resistance to the flow of fluid and that any debris which may collect on the posts 37 during the flow of fluid are removed from the posts, at least from the contact sur faces thereby, by movement of the valve. The additional advantage of reducing the chattering, or at least, preventing damage to the seat rings by such chattering, is brought about by the fact that when the valve is in its intermediate positions the abutments engage the valve gate sections and take'the greater part'of the impact due to chattering and thus relieve the seat rings to an appre-v ciable degree.

Having thus described my invention and major portion thereof with said guidebars during movement to and from the seat, the guide bars having recesses ad acent to their extremitiesfor affording outlets for foreign matter collecting on their faces. p v 2. In a valve, a casing having a passageway for fluid provided with a valve seat,- a. valve portion including complemental rela-1 tively laterally adjustable disk portions mov-.

able across said passageway for engagement ing substantially continuous contact of the with the valve-seat, a plurality of spaced a guide bars fixed to the casing and disposed across said passagewaysymmetrically on each side of and substantially parallel wit-l1 the median line along which the valve moves, and said Valve portion having substantially continuous contact of the major portion thereof with said guide bars during move.- ment to and from the seat, and said valve seat beingremovable and adjustable along the axis of the passageway with respect to the contact surfaces of the guide bars and said valve portion to facilitate accommodation thereof to the relatively adjustable portions of the valve.

ELMER KENNEY NIGKERSON. 

